Dredger.



PATENTED JAN. 13, 1908.

R A. PERRY.

DREDGER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 29, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

RAYMOND A. PERRY, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

DREDG ER.

SPEQIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 718,276, dated January13, 1903. Application filed August 29, 1902. Serial No. 121,479. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RAYMOND A. PERRY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Oakland, county of Alameda, State of California, haveinvented an Improvement in Dredgers; and I hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to improvements in dredging apparatus.

It consists in a novel means for the construction and mounting of theapparatus for excavating and raising the material and in its attachmentto the vessel.

It also comprises a means for applying power to drive the apparatus andin conj unction therewith of detachable connections with the main enginewhereby the power of the engine may be utilized to operate the dredgingmechanism or utilized to propel the vessel from place to place.

My invention also comprises details of construction, which will be morefully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of the vessel, showing myinvention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

In the ordinary construction of dredgers, such as are floated upon thewater and are adapted to dig material from beneath its surface, it iscustomary to build a scow or float of sufficient dimensions to supportthe machinery, and this scow or float is especially constructed with anopen channel at the front end within which the ladder or support for theexcavating device and its driving-shaft and for the suction-pipe is sodisposed as to be raised and lowered. The construction of such a vesselis very expensive, and tugs or other supplemental vessels must beemployed to tow the structure from place to place, thus adding verymaterially to the cost of dredging-work.

It is the object of my invention to so construct the dredging apparatus,and especially thesupporting-ladder, that it may be attached to the hullof an ordinary vessel without material change therein, said apparatusproject ing so far from the front of the vessel that it can cut achannel through which the vessel may float. The main engines of thevessel may have the shaft provided with couplings and located in linebetween a propeller-shaft and the shaft of the suction-pump, so that bydisconnecting one set of couplings and connecting the other the suctionapparatus may be operated while the dredge is at work and the propellermay be operated when it is desired to move the vessel from place toplace. In conjunction with these devices I have shown a crane andmechanism by which the ladder and dredging mechanism may be lifted andsustained in such position as not to interfere with the movements of thevessel when traveling.

As here shown, A is a vessel of any suitable construction,having acomplete bow and stern of the usual shape and without any opening orchannel made at the front.

2 is a stout framework, known as the ladder, and the front portion ofthis ladder extends approximately in line with the bow of the vessel andto a considerable distance in front thereof. This ladder is connected atits rear end with two branches 3, diverging from the point ofconnection, so as to extend upon each side of the bow B of the vessel.At the rear ends of these forks they are journaled or connected to thevessel, so that the whole structure comprising the ladder may be raisedor depressed about these journals.

I have not especially illustrated these connections, as they may beformed in any suitable or well-known manner. The front portion 2 of theladder has journaled upon it a shaft 4, to the front end of which issecured an excavating or digging device 5 of any suitable or well-knowndescription. Beneath the shaft and supported upon the ladder is asuction-pipe 6, the mouth of which is so disposed with relation to thedigger or excavator that the material loosened by the excavator will bedrawn into the suction-pipe by apparatus hereinafter described. Thesuction-pipe extends along one of the branches-3 of theladder, and atthe point where the ladder is hinged to the vessel the .pipe is bent,and by means of a suitable turnable coupling, as 7,

it connects with the inboard portion 8 of the suction-pipe. This portionof the pipe extends rearwardly along the vessel to a suction-pump 9 ofsufficient capacity to withdraw the excavated material as fast as may befound desirable. It is expelled from the pump and carried through a pipe10, extend.- ing from the discharge of the pump to the rear of. thevessel, at which point it may be connected in any suitable manner withconducting-pipe sections exterior to the vessel and leading to a distantpoint of deposit. Such conducting-sections are common and well-known indredges and are not here illustrated.

The main engines 11 of the vessel are here shown as located in linebetween the pumpshaft 9 and the propeller-shaft 12, and by means ofcouplings, as at 13, the engine-shaft may be connected with thepropeller-shaft when it is desired to move the vessel from place toplace. By disconnecting these couplings and connecting up couplings, asat 14, the power of the engine may be utilized to drive the pumpmechanism at 9.

Returning to the ladder, the shaft 4, by which the excavator 5 isdriven, has a coupling 15, located at the junction of the outer portion2 of the ladder with the second forked portion 3 of the ladder, andwhich portion extends upon the opposite side of the bow of the vesselfrom that carrying the suction-pipe 6. This portion 3 has journaled uponit a shaft 16, which is connected by the coupling 15 with the shaft 4:of the excavator. By means of bevel-gears (shown at 17) connection ismade between this shaft and the shaft of a propelling-engine, as 18. Ihave here shown such an engine mounted in near relation with the innerend of the shaft 16 and having its crankshaft or a counter-shaftsuitably connected therewith extending outboard, so as to carry onememberof the bevel-gearl7. This power may be transmitted to drive theexcavating device '5 independent of the power which is applied to thesuction-pump, and the relative speed of operation of the two may bevaried to suit the class of material being excavated and the rapiditywith which it can be delivered to the suction-pipe. The pivots orfulcrums of the ladder I3 3 are necessarily in line with thedriving-shaft of the engine 18 and with the joint 7 of the suction-pipeupon the opposite side, so that any vertical movements of the latter maybe effected without deranging the action of these parts.

19 represents a boom or crane fixed to the bow of the vessel andextending forwardly, and this boom, in conjunction with a mast, as at20, serves to support suitable chains, ropes, or other devices by whichthe ladder and its attachments may be supported or raised or lowered tosuit the work to be done.

When the vessel is to be moved from place to place, the ladder is raisedto a sufficient angle above the surface of the water, turning about itsjournaled connection, and when thus raised it projects forward of thevessel, but offers no obstruction to the movement of the latter. Themain engine being then disconnected from the suction-pump and connectedwith the propeller-shaft, the vessel may be moved to any new point wherework is to be done. When such point has been reached, the engine 11 canbe disconnected from the propeller-shaft and connected with the shaft ofthe suction-pump, the latter, carrying the excavator andsuction-pipe,may be lowered, and the apparatus will be at once incondition for Work.

In order to advance the apparatus while work is progressing, I haveadopteda device well known upon ordinary dredgers, consisting of twovertically-movable timbers 21, called spuds. These timbers pass throughsuitable sockets extending down through the hull of the vessel at pointssu fficiently removed from each other transversely of the vessel. Bymeans of engines and winding drums, as at 22, one of these spuds can beraised and the other depressed, so as to extend into the mud below thevessel and serve as a temporary pivot, about which the vessel is causedto swing from one side to the other while the excavator 5 is at work.When the vessel has swung as far as desired and the out has beencompleted, the other spud 21, which is now in advance of the onepreviously serving as a pivot, is dropped into the mud and the first oneis raised. The second one then serves as a pivot, about which the vesselturns and is correspondingly advanced while a new cut is being made.Thus the vessel may be advanced at each swing from side to side or afterthe whole of one out has been completed, and when not in use the spudsor timbers can both be raised into the wells in which they are movable,so as to present no obstruction to the movement of the vessel whentraveling from place to place. By this construction I am enabled to savethe expense of building a special float or vessel to carry themachinery, as ordinary vessels suitable for the purpose can often bepurchased for a low figure. It is then only necessary to construct thepeculiarly-shaped ladder and the necessary joint connections between itand the main part of the vessel and to provide the necessary engines,suction-pump, and connecting-pipes, when the apparatus will be inreadiness for use. Being self-propelled, it is independent of all tugsor means usually employed for towing dredges from place to place, andthis expense is avoided. Insurance can also be effected, which isimpossible with hulls or scows which must be moved outside of a harborby the aid of tugs.

The front portion of the ladder 2, with its appurtenances, is jointedand separable from the forked rear portion, so that when not in use andwhen the vessel is going to sea to reach another station this front partmay be detached from the rear part and placed inboard upon the vessel,leaving only a short portion extending outboard, which can be easilylifted by the boom or derrick, so as to be entirely out of the way andsafe from the sea.

The apparatus has been heretofore described as being carried upon thebow of the vessel; but it will be manifest that it can be equally wellconnected with the stern if such an arrangement should be desirable, andI desire it to be understood that either arrangement is within thescope'of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. The combination in a dredge of a hull, a ladder consisting of forkedsides extending upon opposite sides of the vessels end, means forpivoting these sides to the vessel, an extension outward from thejunction of these sides and excavating and suction mechanism carriedupon said ladder.

2. The combination in a dredge of'a vessel having a closed bow or stem,at Y-shaped ladder, the body of which extends forwardly approximately inline with the stem and the forks of which extend upon each side of thevessels bow, means pivotally connecting the inner ends of these forkswith opposite sides of the vessel, an excavating device carried at thefront of the ladder, a propelling-shaft journaled upon the body of theladder, a second shaft journaled upon one of the branches of the ladder,a joint connecting the two shafts at their junction, a propelling-enginecarried upon the vessel and connections whereby motion is transmittedtherefrom to the excavator-shaft.

3. The combination in a dredge of a vessel having the closed stemor bow,a Y-shaped ladder, the branches of which extend upon opposite sides ofthe vessels bow and are pivoted thereto, a body portion extendingforward from the junction of said branches, a shaft journaledlongitudinally upon said body portion,an excavator actuated by the frontend of the shaft, a second shaft journaled upon one of the branches oftheY having a pivotal connection with the main portion of the shaft, anengine located upon the vessel and connections between said engine andthe excavator-shaft, a suction-pipe extending along the body and uponthe other branch of the Y having its forward end so located withrelation to the excavator as to form an intake for the material and asuctionpump located upon the vessel, a pipe connected therewith, and aturnable joint between the front end of said pipe and the part mountedupon the ladder.

4-. The combination in a dredge of a vessel having a closed bow orstern, a Y-shaped ladder, the forked ends of which extend upon oppositesides of the end and are pivoted thereto in a line transverse to thelength of the vessel, an excavator the shaft of which is journaled uponthe body portion of the ladder, a suction-pipe carried thereby'with itsmouth located at the rear of the excavator, said pipe being extendedalong one of the branches of the Y-shaped ladder and having a pivotalconnection witha suction-pipe located upon the vessel, a branch shaftcarried upon the other member of the Y-shapedladder having a pivotalconnection with the main excavator-shaft,anda propelling-engine locatedupon the vessel and connected with the excavator-shaft.

5. The combination in a dredge of a vessel having a closed bow or stern,a Y-shaped ladder, the open ends of the branches of which embrace theend and are pivoted thereto, an excavator and driving shaft andsuction-pipe carried respectively upon the main portion and forkedmembers ofthe ladder whereby the excavator is projected out from thevessels hull and adapted to cut a channel for its progression.

i 6. The combination in a dredger of a vessel having a closed bow orstern, a Y-shaped ladder, the forks of which are pivoted upon each sideof the vessel, an excavator driving-shaft and suction-pipe carried uponthe ladder and its branches, a crane or boom mounted upon the Vesselprojecting outwardly therefrom and connections between said boom and theladder whereby said ladder may be raised or depressed.

7. The combination in a dredger of a vessel having a closed bow orstern, a Y-shaped ladder embracing and pivoted thereto projectingoutwardly therefrom, an excavator, a propelling-shaft. and asuction-pipe carried upon the ladder and a suction-pump and main enginelocated upon the vessel, a propeller, the shaft thereof journaled inline with the engine and suction-pump shaft and couplings by whicheither of said shafts may be connected with the engine. I

8. The combination in a dredge of an excavating and suction mechanismand a ladder upon which they are carried at the front of the vessel, apropeller located at the rear of the vessel, a suction-pump, the shaftof which is in line with and separated from the inner end of thepropeller-shaft, a main engine located with its shaft in line betweenthe propeller and pu mp-shaf t and couplings whereby said engines may beconnected with either the pump or propeller.

9. A sea-going vessel, in combination with a projecting hydraulicdredging apparatus by which a channel may be cut for the advance of thevessel, said apparatus having a forked end extending upon each side ofthe bow of the vessel.

v 10. A sea-going and self-propelling vessel, in combination with ahydraulic dredging apparatus, having one portion forked to extend IIOupon each side of the bow of the vessel and and having a separableextension adapted to having another portion projecting beyond the bedisengaged from the rear portion. 10

vessel and adapted to cut a channel therefor. In witness whereof I havehereunto set my 11. A sea-going vessel, in combination with hand.

5 a hydraulic dredging apparatus mounted RAYMOND A. PERRY.

thereon, having a portion forked to straddle WVitnesses:

the bow of the vessel and having another porl S. H. NOURSE, tion toproject beyond the end of the vessel,

JESSIE (J. BBODIE.

